I recently traveled to Seattle for the American Alliance of Museums Annual Conference, and in my downtime I made the effort to get to know this ‘Emerald City’ on the sound. Seattle itself has a population a little over 600,000, but its metropolitan area comes in at over 3 million. It feels similar to both Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado in both size and attitude. It’s casual with a touch of urban, and boasts great food, music, and beer. What’s not to like?

All beginnings end, leading to new beginnings. The job I consider the beginning of my museum career comes to an end this month. Next month I begin a new job at the University of Colorado Art Museum.

I am thankful for the opportunities for professional and personal development my job at the Denver Art Museum allowed. I will forever be in debt to the mentors that took me on – I could spend a lifetime learning from them. Most of all, I’m thankful for the one who finally pushed me out of the nest. Read the rest of this entry »

Anniversaries serve as a time for reflection on, and celebration of, the passage of time.

Three years ago Japan suffered a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, a massive tsunami, and a nuclear crisis which devastated a large region of east Japan.

Over 15,000 people died. Another 2,600 remain missing. Countless families were evacuated from their homes, and three years later many remain displaced.

In the face of such horror, the spirit of the Japanese people never wavered. Communities came together, cleaned up, rebuilt. Life goes on and the beauty of our humanity shines through.
On this (nearly) third anniversary of such a truly awful disaster I want to share a few stories of how good-hearted people are continuing to do wonderful acts of selflessness in the region.

This article from the Japan Times features a project to restore and scan photos found in the rubble.

This article, also from the Japan Times, features caring people who are feeding and caring for the animals abandoned in the mandatory evacuation areas around the Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant.

My husband is a bread snob.
Being European, he claims he has a right to be. No joke.
Why am I telling you this?
I’ve taken to bartering with friends and colleagues, offering our fresh eggs. One of my colleagues is known for her sublime loaves of fresh bread, so I proposed a barter. I brought the still-warm-from-the-oven bread home. I sliced into this perfectly round, nearly heme-spherical loaf. My husband was skeptical. He took a bite. And another. Then a declaration:This might be the best bread I’ve had in America.

We had more bread for breakfast. Then an amendment to his declaration followed by a question:This IS the best bread I’ve had in America. Can she teach you?

And so I was set on the path to learn to make bread. My colleague praised the book My Bread by Jim Lahey, so I picked up a copy. It’s filled with wonderful recipes, helpful photos, and heartwarming stories. It gave me a place to start, and maybe even a little confidence.